Not what I expected — Was looking out the window, rain falling like it hadn’t in a while. As if it were making up for all the dry days and drought complaints and withering flowers in the front yard and I couldn’t help but feel this sense of loneliness coming from the sheets of water…

For something that actually works — Weddings are emotional. For those attending them. Sure, the bride and groom are experiencing one of life’s most influential moments — getting married. But pound for pound the heavy lifting is happening in the hearts and minds of those in the audience. That’s where the ergs of emotional energy are…

And now … is just another day — The sun rose without consent, as I waited in the dark, and as a whisper came and went - a dream broke against a ragged shore a sorrow breached the great divide and all was not as I imagined it would be. A bird whispered at my door, are you coming? A…

All emotions are a part of us, even those we don’t like very much — The plane landed safely, and I arrived as easily a few minutes later. Feeling all east coast and alone, while the western sun greeted me with heat and dust and the familiar shadows cast at odd angles as it’s always done in L.A. Vacation completed, check. Time spent wisely with family and…

1971, thoughts of Vietnam and my first poem — It was 1971, the Vietnam War was still raging. The world, split neatly into two parts, each pointing fingers and hurling accusations at each other. Fathers looked away from sons who did not want to fight. Mothers lit candles and said prayers as politicians lied and postured and posed for…

Me too — Have you ever had the urge to punch someone? Not when they cut you off in traffic. Not when they shout out something obscene. Not when they hurt a cat or a dog. Not when they yell at their child in Starbucks. Not when they bang into a car and drive away. Not when they shout…

Filling in the spaces — What happens when you never had something but you know others did? Like never having had a grandmother. Never sat in her lap. Never ate her cookies, sipped her soup, or watched soaps with her on Tuesday mornings. Never said her name or nanna or nonna or squeezed melons with…

Mother Nature’s wake-up call — I think we all heard it — California just received a little reminder from Mother Nature that sometimes we need to take her seriously. Apparently, this is the first hurricane/tropical storm in 100 years to actually make its way into the state with very high winds and lots of rain and flooding. In the past they mostly…

Well, that depends — Someone posed the question — are writers selfish? No more than anyone else I thought. No more than a squirrel or parakeet or the reclusive neighbor with strange lawn ornaments down the street. Or my Phys Ed teacher in high school who referred to all of us as Ladies. Or the…